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Sudbury police release name of worker killed in recent mine accident

By The Canadian Press

02/02/2012|www.cos-mag.com

Sudbury police have released the name of the miner who died in a workplace accident at Vale's Coleman Mine in Levack, Ont. Stephen Perry, 47, was killed Sunday while he was working alone underground in a mining area tagged for new development.

The company says displaced or loose rock material was involved in the accident but investigations are being carried out to determine how Perry died.

This is the third fatality at Vale's Sudbury operations in less than a year. Two miners died last June at the Stobie Mine.

Vale has temporarily suspended operations at all five of its Sudbury-area mines. It's not known how long the shutdown will last.

The Ontario Ministry of Labour has asked that the area and equipment where the accident happened not be disturbed and for Vale to provide any documentation that could be helpful in the probe.

Ministry spokesman Matt Blajer says this includes training records, equipment maintenance records, crew lineups, blueprints for the development area and a list of the employees involved in recovering the victim.

Blajer says investigators will be looking at safety procedures, training, equipment maintenance and whether the Occupational Health and Safety Act and mining regulations were followed.

He couldn't say how long the ministry's investigation would take but they have one year to complete the report.

Sudbury police are involved only until criminal liability has been ruled out.

Vale and the United Steelworkers Union will also conduct investigations once the other two agencies have released the scene.